Christer Strömholm was Swedish photographer who lived in Paris in the 1950’s and who was well-known by the transgender and crossdressing community there. He photographed members of the community and published a book of his photos, and many of them can be found at the link below.

More big news for us – transman Miki Alexander Manigault takes on health insurer Kaiser, wins a settlement out of court, and then Colorado steps in and orders all health insurers in the state to stop discrimination against transgender persons.

A play which makes me wonder about its intent. The article contains the following:

A musical with a folk/bluegrass score, Southern Comfort, according to BSC, “is a true story based on Kate Davis’ 2001 Sundance Award-winning documentary about transgender friends in rural Georgia. Winner of the Jonathan Larson Award, Southern Comfort is the story of male transgendered Robert Eads (O’Toole) and his trans girlfriend Lola Cola (McCarthy) as they navigate life and its challenges in the back hills of ‘Bubba Land’ Georgia. A celebration of a uniquely American family living life openly, honestly and courageously in the community they have grown to love.”

From the Huffington Post, an interesting collection of advice, however I dvery mildly isagree with some of it. For example, I would modify (2) to also say “…and say hello to feminine privilege,” because I have definitely benefited from that more than I lost anything.

Ireland’s government is moving slowly to both allow transpeople to change their birth certificates and have their gender recognized by the State. This has been tried before in Ireland, only to go down in defeat from opposition by the Catholic Church. Let’s hope this time they decide to do the right thin.

Thank you Devin Payne for this link. This is huge news – while the outcome of Macy v. Holder in 2012 paved the way for a sea-change in transgender employment practices, this is the first case which went the full 9 yards after Macy, and it’s a win! I can’t emphasize how important this is, and it helps start the chain of setting precedent for protecting the jobs of transgender persons.

Sorry, sometimes I cannot resist contrived alliteration. Thanks to Devin Payne for pointing me to this article highlighting how transgender persons worked with the Palm Springs police so an effort can be made to treat us with dignity.

This is big news for veterans, as apparently it’s now possible to change your gender marker on your military records and Veteran ID cards. At least it worked for Navy Veteran Autumn Sandeen, as explained in the linked

This is a cool true story of how a struggling shoe factory got new life by catering to transgender customers. The stage version just won an award for “Best Musical.” Some of the story:

In his 30s Pateman had taken over from his father as boss of WJ Brookes – a traditional shoe factory in the village of Earls Barton in Northamptonshire which had existed for more than a century.

Struggling with changes in fashion and competition from abroad Steve had started to look for new markets. He was persuaded by an unexpected phone-call to think about expansion into “kinky boots” – women’s shoes in men’s sizes for transgender people.

…

“…I explained we were having real difficulty getting hold of well-made women’s shoes which would fit men. I persuaded him the market wasn’t as niche as he thought and suddenly he was keen.

“In fact at one point Steve got carried away. He was talking about leopard-skin boots and other exotic lines. But what my customers want is classic black patent boots and shoes which will take a man’s weight.”

Announcing a science review of the causes of transgenderism and transsexuality – “The Transgender Brain.” This article is one which I’ve spent a long time writing, and which I hope is a comprehensive page proving that yes, there is a serious physical difference between transgender persons and everyone else.

I think the evidence in here is complete and convincing, and if you think it’s a good article, I encourage you to pass the link on to your friends, families, co-workers, and other naysayers and doubters.

I include more than 35 scientific citations, and reviewed more than 200 research papers to write this article. There may be some spelling or grammar errors, I would not take offense at corrections or suggestions. I’ve read and re-read this paper so many times that I confess I’m getting bleary-eyed over it.